Aizawl, Feb. 11: The rebel faction of the Mizoram People?s Conference (MPC) yesterday convened a meeting at a hotel here to discuss ways to overthrow the MPC president.
Sources said the faction, led by MPC vice-president Zairemthanga, formulated a plan to overthrow present president Lalhmingthanga during the party elections on February 25 and 26.
The faction also decided to put up former MLA Col. Lalchungnunga for the post of president, Kenneth Chawngliana as vice-president and Lalthanzauva Pudaite, retired IFS officer, as treasurer.
The sources said the rebel faction had, for long, wanted to remove the party president but was unable to do so because the latter?s permission was required to convene a political affairs committee meeting.
However, seizing the opportunity of Lalhmingthanga?s absence from the city, the senior vice-president convened the meeting.
?We had repeatedly requested the president in his capacity as chairman of the committee to convene a meeting but with little success. With party elections just round the corner, we had to resort to a method that may not be ethical but was necessary. We convened a meeting with the help of our senior vice-president while the president was away visiting his constituency,? the source admitted.
The rebel group said though they had urged Lalhmingthanga to step down while he was in his constituency to avoid a scandal in the party, he had refused.
Sources said the role of Col. Lalchungnunga and Kenneth Chawngliana in the rebellion was still not clear, as Lalhmingthanga, too, had listed the two for the posts of treasurer and vice-president.
Lalhmingthanga, after hearing the news, hurried back to the state capital last night from Lunglei and has been in a huddle with his supporters since then.